"Simply put, this game is fun!"

Every once in a while a game comes along that reminds us that you don't need the sharpest graphics, the most in-depth control, and every play ever executed by every sports team ever; all you need is a good idea and a reasonable amount of quality behind it. Lego Star Wars is one of those games.

Graphics: 8/10The graphics are decent, but certainly not eye-popping. I think they made a good balance between natural environments and Lego-ized environments. Most of the characters, vehicles, and stuff that characters can manipulate are made of Legos, and the rest has a more natural look. And when stuff breaks or explodes, little Lego pieces fall out.

Sound: 9/10It's hard to have a bad sound experience with a Star Wars-related game. They've got such great music behind the movies that all you have to do is put in some of the scores from the movies, a few blaster pings, and the lightsaber hums and swooshes, and everyone's happy. I dock it one point only because when Lego stuff explodes, you hear little clacking sounds of Lego pieces falling on the ground. It's realistic but a bit tedious after a while.

Controls: 8/10Once again, they struck a pretty good balance. Make characters too controllable and you wonder why there are Legos in the scene, when real Lego figures only bend at the waist and shoulders. Make the controls too stiff and you're frustrated that a Jedi knight can't do this or that. Controllable camera angles would have been more helpful, and some of the vehicle controls are a bit clumsy, but neither is so bad that it affects playability.

Playability and replayability: 10/10It's great to see some classic characters and scenes Lego-ized. The levels are simple enough to beat on a single take, but complex enough that you'll have to remember where certain puzzles are so you can come back and solve them in free play mode, which makes replay value high. I haven't played it in multiplayer mode yet, but the ability to "tag in" and "tag out" with multiplayer is a big plus.

Rent or buy?If all you want to do is see a few characters and scenes done up in Legos, just rent this game. But if you want to unlock all the stuff, especially if you want to do it without using the walkthroughs posted here (the game is easy enough to do that), buy it. Either way, it's a blast!